Water Quality Functions of Riparian Forest Buffers in Chesapeake Bay Watersheds

/ Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, USA, have agreed to reduce nutrient loadings to Chesapeake Bay by 40% by the year 2000. This requires control of nonpoint sources of nutrients, much of which comes from agriculture. Riparian forest buffer systems (RFBS) provide effective control of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in some types of agricultural watersheds. Control of NPS pollution is dependent on the type of pollutant and the hydrologic connection between pollution sources, the RFBS, and the stream. Water quality improvements are most likely in areas of where most of the excess precipitation moves across, in, or near the root zone of the RFBS. In areas such as the Inner Coastal Plain and Piedmont watersheds with thin soils, RFBS should retain 50%-90% of the total loading of nitrate in shallow groundwater, sediment in surface runoff, and total N in both surface runoff and groundwater. Retention of phosphorus is generally much less. In regions with deeper soils and/or greater regional groundwater recharge (such as parts of the Piedmont and the Valley and Ridge), RFBS water quality improvements are probably much less. The expected levels of pollutant control by RFBS are identified for each of nine physiographic provinces of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Issues related to of establishment, sustainability, and management are also discussed.KEY WORDS: Riparian forest buffers; Chesapeake Bay; Nonpoint source pollution; Nitrogen; Phosphorus; Sediment     

EFFECTS OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON FOREST STREAMWATER QUALITY IN EASTERN KENTUCKY1

ABSTRACT: Forest land managers are concerned about the effects of logging on soil erosion, streamflow, and water quality and are promoting the use of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to control impacts. To compare the effects of BMP implementation on streamwater quality, two of three small watersheds in Kentucky were harvested in 1983 and 1984, one with BMPs, the other without BMPs. There was no effect of clearcutting on stream temperatures. Streamflow increased by 17.8 cm (123 percent) on the BMP watershed during the first 17 months after cutting and by 20.6 cm (138 percent) on the Non-BMP watershed. Water yields remained significantly elevated compared to the uncut watershed 8 years after harvesting. Suspended sediment flux was 14 and 30 times higher on the BMP and Non-BMP Watersheds, respectively, than on the uncut watershed during treatment, and 4 and 6.5 times higher in the 17 months after treatment was complete. Clearcutting resulted in increased concentrations of nitrate, and other nutrients compared to the uncut watershed, and concentrations were highest on the non-BMP watershed. Recovery of biotic control over nutrient losses occurred within three years of clearcutting. The streamside buffer strip was effective in reducing the impact of clearcutting on water yield and sediment flux.     

Headwater Influences on Downstream Water Quality

We investigated the influence of riparian and whole watershed land use as a function of stream size on surface water chemistry and assessed regional variation in these relationships. Sixty-eight watersheds in four level III U.S. EPA ecoregions in eastern Kansas were selected as study sites. Riparian land cover and watershed land use were quantified for the entire watershed, and by Strahler order. Multiple regression analyses using riparian land cover classifications as independent variables explained among-site variation in water chemistry parameters, particularly total nitrogen (41%), nitrate (61%), and total phosphorus (63%) concentrations. Whole watershed land use explained slightly less variance, but riparian and whole watershed land use were so tightly correlated that it was difficult to separate their effects. Water chemistry parameters sampled in downstream reaches were most closely correlated with riparian land cover adjacent to the smallest (first-order) streams of watersheds or land use in the entire watershed, with riparian zones immediately upstream of sampling sites offering less explanatory power as stream size increased. Interestingly, headwater effects were evident even at times when these small streams were unlikely to be flowing. Relationships were similar among ecoregions, indicating that land use characteristics were most responsible for water quality variation among watersheds. These findings suggest that nonpoint pollution control strategies should consider the influence of small upland streams and protection of downstream riparian zones alone is not sufficient to protect water quality.     

Evaluating agricultural best management practices in tile-drained subwatersheds of the Mackinaw River, Illinois

Best management practices (BMPs) are widely promoted in agricultural watersheds as a means of improving water quality and ameliorating altered hydrology. We used a paired watershed approach to evaluate whether focused outreach could increase BMP implementation rates and whether BMPs could induce watershed-scale (4000 ha) changes in nutrients, suspended sediment concentrations, or hydrology in an agricultural watershed in central Illinois. Land use was >90% row crop agriculture with extensive subsurface tile drainage. Outreach successfully increased BMP implementation rates for grassed waterways, stream buffers, and strip-tillage within the treatment watershed, which are designed to reduce surface runoff and soil erosion. No significant changes in nitrate-nitrogen (NO-N), total phosphorus (TP), dissolved reactive phosphorus, total suspended sediment (TSS), or hydrology were observed after implementation of these BMPs over 7 yr of monitoring. Annual NO-N export (39-299 Mg) in the two watersheds was equally exported during baseflow and stormflow. Mean annual TP export was similar between the watersheds (3.8 Mg) and was greater for TSS in the treatment (1626 ± 497 Mg) than in the reference (940 ± 327 Mg) watershed. Export of TP and TSS was primarily due to stormflow (>85%). Results suggest that the BMPs established during this study were not adequate to override nutrient export from subsurface drainage tiles. Conservation planning in tile-drained agricultural watersheds will require a combination of surface-water BMPs and conservation practices that intercept and retain subsurface agricultural runoff. Our study emphasizes the need to measure conservation outcomes and not just implementation rates of conservation practices.     

Effects of Groundwater-Flow Paths On Nitrate Concentrations Across Two Riparian Forest Corridors1

Speiran, Gary K., 2010. Effects of Groundwater-Flow Paths on Nitrate Concentrations Across Two Riparian Forest Corridors. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):246-260. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00427.x Abstract: Groundwater levels, apparent age, and chemistry from field sites and groundwater-flow modeling of hypothetical aquifers collectively indicate that groundwater-flow paths contribute to differences in nitrate concentrations across riparian corridors. At sites in Virginia (one coastal and one Piedmont), lowland forested wetlands separate upland fields from nearby surface waters (an estuary and a stream). At the coastal site, nitrate concentrations near the water table decreased from more than 10 mg/l beneath fields to 2 mg/l beneath a riparian forest buffer because recharge through the buffer forced water with concentrations greater than 5 mg/l to flow deeper beneath the buffer. Diurnal changes in groundwater levels up to 0.25 meters at the coastal site reflect flow from the water table into unsaturated soil where roots remove water and nitrate dissolved in it. Decreases in aquifer thickness caused by declines in the water table and decreases in horizontal hydraulic gradients from the uplands to the wetlands indicate that more than 95% of the groundwater discharged to the wetlands. Such discharge through organic soil can reduce nitrate concentrations by denitrification. Model simulations are consistent with field results, showing downward flow approaching toe slopes and surface waters to which groundwater discharges. These effects show the importance of buffer placement over use of fixed-width, streamside buffers to control nitrate concentrations.     

Nitrate removal in riparian wetlands: interactions between surface flow and soils

Riparian wetlands containing springs are thought to be ineffective at removing nitrate because contact times between the upwelled ground water and the underlying microbially active soils are short. Tracer experiments using lithium bromide (LiBr) and nitrate (NO3-N) injected at the surface were used to quantify residence times and NO3-N removal in a riparian swale characteristic of New Zealand hill-country pasture. An experimental enclosure was used with collecting trays at the downstream end to measure flow and concentration, shallow wells to measure subsurface concentrations, and an array of logging conductivity probes to monitor tracer continuously. The majority of added tracer reached the outlet more slowly than could be explained by surface flow, but more quickly than could be explained by Darcy seepage flow. There was evidence from the wells of tracer diffusing vertically to a depth of at least 5 cm into the surface soil layer, which was permanently saturated and highly porous. During dry weather 24 +/- 9% of added NO3-N was removed over a distance of 1.5 m largely by denitrification. The net uptake length coefficient for this wetland (K = 0.08 +/- 0.03 m(-1)) is slightly higher than the range (K = 0.01-0.07 m(-1)) measured in a small stream channel infested with macrophytes. Nitrate removal is expected to decrease with increasing flow. Seepage flow is estimated to have removed only 7 +/- 4% of the added NO3-N and we hypothesize that vertical diffusion substantially increases NO3-N removal in this type of wetland. Riparian wetlands with springs and surface flows should not be dismissed as having low NO3-N removal potential without checking whether there is significant vertical mixing.     

Agroforestry practices,runoff, and nutrient loss: a paired watershed comparison

A paired watershed study consisting of agroforestry (trees plus grass buffer strips), contour strips (grass buffer strips), and control treatments with a corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation was used to examine treatment effects on runoff, sediment, and nutrient losses. During the (1991-1997) calibration and subsequent three-year treatment periods, runoff was measured in 0.91- and 1.37-m H-flumes with bubbler flow meters. Composite samples were analyzed for sediment, total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), nitrate, and ammonium. Calibration equations developed to predict runoff, sediment, and nutrients losses explained 66 to 97% of the variability between treatment watersheds. The contour strip and agroforestry treatments reduced runoff by 10 and 1% during the treatment period. In both treatments, most runoff reductions occurred in the second and third years after treatment establishment. The contour strip treatment reduced erosion by 19% in 1999, while erosion in the agroforestry treatment exceeded the predicted loss. Treatments reduced TP loss by 8 and 17% on contour strip and agroforestry watersheds. Treatments did not result in reductions in TN during the first two years of the treatment period. The contour strip and agroforestry treatments reduced TN loss by 21 and 20%, respectively, during a large precipitation event in the third year. During the third year of treatments, nitrate N loss was reduced 24 and 37% by contour strip and agroforestry treatments. Contour strip and agroforestry management practices effectively reduced nonpoint-source pollution in runoff from a corn-soybean rotation in the clay pan soils of northeastern Missouri.     

Meta-analysis of nitrogen removal in riparian buffers

Riparian buffers, the vegetated region adjacent to streams and wetlands, are thought to be effective at intercepting and reducing nitrogen loads entering water bodies. Riparian buffer width is thought to be positively related to nitrogen removal effectiveness by influencing nitrogen retention or removal. We surveyed the scientific literature containing data on riparian buffers and nitrogen concentration in streams and groundwater to identify trends between nitrogen removal effectiveness and buffer width, hydrological flow path, and vegetative cover. Nitrogen removal effectiveness varied widely. Wide buffers (>50 m) more consistently removed significant portions of nitrogen entering a riparian zone than narrow buffers (0-25 m). Buffers of various vegetation types were equally effective at removing nitrogen but buffers composed of herbaceous and forest/herbaceous vegetation were more effective when wider. Subsurface removal of nitrogen was efficient, but did not appear to be related to buffer width, while surface removal of nitrogen was partly related to buffer width. The mass of nitrate nitrogen removed per unit length of buffer did not differ by buffer width, flow path, or buffer vegetation type. Our meta-analysis suggests that buffer width is an important consideration in managing nitrogen in watersheds. However, the inconsistent effects of buffer width and vegetation on nitrogen removal suggest that soil type, subsurface hydrology (e.g., soil saturation, groundwater flow paths), and subsurface biogeochemistry (organic carbon supply, nitrate inputs) also are important factors governing nitrogen removal in buffers.     

Cropland Riparian Buffers throughout Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Spatial Patterns and Effects on Nitrate Loads Delivered to Streams

We used statistical models to provide the first empirical estimates of riparian buffer effects on the cropland nitrate load to streams throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. For each of 1,964 subbasins, we quantified the 1990 prevalence of cropland and riparian buffers. Cropland was considered buffered if the topographic flow path connecting it to a stream traversed a streamside forest or wetland. We applied a model that predicts stream nitrate concentration based on physiographic province and the watershed proportions of unbuffered and buffered cropland. We used another model to predict annual streamflow based on precipitation and temperature, and then multiplied the predicted flows and concentrations to estimate 1990 annual nitrate loads. Across the entire Chesapeake watershed, croplands released 92.3 Gg of nitrate nitrogen, but 19.8 Gg of that was removed by riparian buffers. At most, 29.4 Gg more might have been removed if buffer gaps were restored so that all cropland was buffered. The other 43.1 Gg of cropland load cannot be addressed with riparian buffers. The Coastal Plain physiographic province provided 52% of the existing buffer reduction of Bay‐wide nitrate loads and 36% of potential additional removal from buffer restoration in cropland buffer gaps. Existing and restorable nitrate removal in buffers were lower in the other three major provinces because of less cropland, lower buffer prevalence, and lower average buffer nitrate removal efficiency.     

CHAPARRAL CONTROL IN MOSAIC PATTERN INCREASED STREAMFLOW AND MITIGATED NITRATE LOSS IN ARIZONA1

ABSTRACT: In a 16-year paired watershed study in Arizona, a 303-acre chaparral watershed was treated by helicopter in a mosaic pattern (55 percent of watershed) with tebuthiuron herbicide pellets to control the moderately dense, heavy water-using chaparral. The objective was to determine if annual stream discharge could be increased without degrading other resource values. An adjacent untreated chaparral watershed served as the control on which to base the water quantity and quality treatment effects. Annual streamflow was increased by 1.5 to 5 inches over a seven-year evaluation period. The streamflow increase was accompanied by a small but statistically significant increase in nitrate concentration. The relatively small nitrate response was attributed to the mosaic treatment. Nitrate released from the converted areas was diluted by streamflow from untreated areas, thereby reducing nitrate concentrations in streamflow at the watershed outlet.     

Testing the Hydrological Landscape Unit Classification System and Other Terrain Analysis Measures for Predicting Low-Flow Nitrate and Chloride in Watersheds

Elevated nitrate concentrations in streamwater are a major environmental management problem. While land use exerts a large control on stream nitrate, hydrology often plays an equally important role. To date, predictions of low-flow nitrate in ungauged watersheds have been poor because of the difficulty in describing the uniqueness of watershed hydrology over large areas. Clearly, hydrologic response varies depending on the states and stocks of water, flow pathways, and residence times. How to capture the dominant hydrological controls that combine with land use to define streamwater nitrate concentration is a major research challenge. This paper tests the new Hydrologic Landscape Regions (HLRs) watershed classification scheme of Wolock and others (Environmental Management 34:S71-S88, 2004) to address the question: Can HLRs be used as a way to predict low-flow nitrate? We also test a number of other indexes including inverse-distance weighting of land use and the well-known topographic index (TI) to address the question: How do other terrain and land use measures compare to HLR in terms of their ability to predict low-flow nitrate concentration? We test this for 76 watersheds in western Oregon using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program and Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program data. We found that HLRs did not significantly improve nitrate predictions beyond the standard TI and land-use metrics. Using TI and inverse-distance weighting did not improve nitrate predictions; the best models were the percentage land use—elevation models. We did, however, see an improvement of chloride predictions using HLRs, TI, and inverse-distance weighting; adding HLRs and TI significantly improved model predictions and the best models used inverse-distance weighting and elevation. One interesting result of this study is elevation consistently predicted nitrate better than TI or the hydrologic classification scheme.     

STREAM TEMPERATURE UNDER AN INADEQUATE BUFFER STRIP IN THE SOUTHEAST PIEDMONT1

ABSTRACT: A paired watershed experiment on the southeastern Piedmont to determine the effect of clearcutting loblolly pine on water quantity, quality, and timing has shown that stream water temperatures we increased as much as 20°F even though a partial buffer strip of trees and shrubs were left in place to shade the stream. Water time minimum stream temperatures were lowered as much as 10°F by the same treatment. A stream temperature model now in use did not predict such elevated temperatures. The authors suggest that forest cover reductions in areas of gentle land relief may elevate the temperature of shallow ground water moving to the stream, even with a substantial buffer strip Ln place.     

Watershed factors affecting stream acidification in the White Mountains of New Hampshire,USA

The streams tributary to acidic Cone Pond, pH 4.5–4.8, and circumneutral Black Pond, pH 5.3–6.4, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA, were monitored for a year. The watersheds of these two ponds were characterized in terms of geology and stream hydrology. Chemical gradients and patterns in rock weathering and groundwater discharge explain many of the differences in mineral content and acidity of the streams. The rocks of Black watershed produced an average of ten times the equivalent of basic cations as rocks from Cone watershed. This is on the same order as the difference in acidity of the two streams. Down-stream changes in stream chemistry follow differing patterns, but reflect the same principle of residence time and water path length controlling chemical evolution of streamwater. Watershed and aquatic managers may use these parameters in an inexpensive and simple assessment of the susceptibility of individual streams and ponds to acidification. A method is recommended to determine quickly the potential influence of bedrock type to aquatic chemistry.     

Weighting Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pixel Pollutant Loads to Represent Runoff and Buffering Likelihoods

Watershed models often estimate annual nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) pollutant loads in rural areas with export coefficient (EC) (kg/ha/yr) values based on land cover, and in urban areas as the product of spatially uniform event mean concentration (EMC) (mg/L) values and runoff volume. Actual N and P nonpoint source (NPS) pollutant loading has more spatial complexity due to watershed variation in runoff likelihood and buffering likelihood along surface and subsurface pathways, which can be represented in a contributing area dispersal area (CADA) NPS model. This research develops a CADA NPS model to simulate how watershed properties of elevation, land cover, and soils upslope and downslope of each watershed pixel influence nutrient loading. The model uses both surface and subsurface runoff indices (RI), and surface and subsurface buffer indices (BI), to quantify the runoff and buffering likelihood for each watershed pixel, and generate maps of weighted EC and EMC values that identify NPS pollutant loading hotspots. The research illustrates how CADA NPS model maps and pixel loading values are sensitive to the spatial resolution and accuracy of elevation and land cover data, and model predictions can represent the lower and upper bounds of NPS loading. The model provides managers with a tool to rapidly visualize, rank, and investigate likely areas of high nutrient export.     

Multivariate analysis of paired watershed data to evaluate agricultural best management practice effects on stream water phosphorus

Quantification of the effects of management programs on water quality is critical to agencies responsible for water resource protection. This research documents reductions in stream water phosphorus (P) loads resulting from agricultural best management practices (BMPs) implemented as part of an effort to control eutrophication of Cannonsville Reservoir, a drinking water supply for New York City. Dairy farms in the upstate New York reservoir basin were the target of BMPs designed to reduce P losses. A paired watershed study was established on one of these farms in 1993 to evaluate changes in P loading attributable to implementation of BMPs that included manure management, rotational grazing, and improved infrastructure. Intensive stream water monitoring provided data to calculate P loads from the 160-ha farm watershed for all runoff events during a two-year pre-treatment period and a four-year post-treatment period. Statistical control for inter-annual climatic variability was provided by matched P loads from a nearby 86-ha forested watershed, and by several event flow variables measured at the farm. A sophisticated multivariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) provided estimates of both seasonal and overall load reductions. Statistical power and the minimum detectable treatment effect (MDTE) were also calculated. The results demonstrated overall event load reductions of 43% for total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) and 29% for particulate phosphorus (PP). Changes in farm management practices and physical infrastructure clearly produced decreases in event P losses measurable at the small watershed scale.     

RIPARIAN COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH PACIFIC NORTHWEST HEADWATER STREAMS: ASSEMBLAGES,PROCESSES, AND UNIQUENESS1

Riparian areas of large streams provide important habitat to many species and control many instream processes — but is the same true for the margins of small streams? This review considers riparian areas alongside small streams in forested, mountainous areas of the Pacific Northwest and asks if there are fundamental ecological differences from larger streams and from other regions and if there are consequences for management from any differences. In the moist forests along many small streams of the Pacific Northwest, the contrast between the streamside and upslope forest is not as strong as that found in drier regions. Small streams typically lack floodplains, and the riparian area is often constrained by the hillslope. Nevertheless, riparian‐associated organisms, some unique to headwater areas, are found along small streams. Disturbance of hillslopes and stream channels and microclimatic effects of streams on the riparian area provide great heterogeneity in processes and diversity of habitats. The tight coupling of the terrestrial riparian area with the aquatic system results from the closed canopy and high edge‐to‐area ratio for small streams. Riparian areas of the temperate, conifer dominated forests of the Pacific Northwest provide a unique environment. Forest management guidelines for small streams vary widely, and there has been little evaluation of the local or downstream consequences of forest practices along small streams.     

EXPORT COEFFICIENT MODELING TO ASSESS PHOSPHORUS LOADING IN AN URBAN WATERSHED1

ABSTRACT: An export coefficient modeling approach was used to assess the influence of land use on phosphorus loading to a Southern Ontario stream. A model was constructed for the 1995–1996 water year and calibrated within ± 3 percent of the observed mean concentration of total phosphorus. It was found that runoff from urban areas contributed most to the loading of phosphorus to the stream. When the model was assessed by running it for the 1977–1978 water year, using water quality and land use data collected independently, agreement within ± 7 percent was obtained. The model was then used to forecast the impact of future urban development proposed for the watershed, in terms of phosphorus loading, and to evaluate the reduction in loading resulting from several urban best management practices (BMP). It was determined that phosphorus removal will have to be applied to all the urban runoff from the watershed to appreciably reduce stream phosphorus concentration. Of the BMP designs assessed, an infiltration pond system resulted in the greatest phosphorus load reduction, 50 percent from the 1995–1996 baseline.     

Perennial filter strips reduce nitrate levels in soil and shallow groundwater after grassland-to-cropland conversion

Many croplands planted to perennial grasses under the Conservation Reserve Program are being returned to crop production, and with potential consequences for water quality. The objective of this study was to quantify the impact of grassland-to-cropland conversion on nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) concentrations in soil and shallow groundwater and to assess the potential for perennial filter strips (PFS) to mitigate increases in NO3-N levels. The study, conducted at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge (NSNWR) in central Iowa, consisted of a balanced incomplete block design with 12 watersheds and four watershed-scale treatments having different proportions and topographic positions of PFS planted in native prairie grasses: 100% rowcrop, 10% PFS (toeslope position), 10% PFS (distributed on toe and as contour strips), and 20 PFS (distributed on toe and as contour strips). All treatments were established in fall 2006 on watersheds that were under bromegrass (Bromus L.) cover for at least 10 yr. Nonperennial areas were maintained under a no-till 2-yr corn (Zea mays L.)--soybean [Glycine max. (L.) Merr.] rotation since spring 2007. Suction lysimeter and shallow groundwater wells located at upslope and toeslope positions were sampled monthly during the growing season to determine NO3-N concentration from 2005 to 2008. The results indicated significant increases in NO3-N concentration in soil and groundwater following grassland-to-cropland conversion. Nitrate-nitrogen levels in the vadose zone and groundwater under PFS were lower compared with 100% cropland, with the most significant differences occurring at the toeslope position. During the years following conversion, PFS mitigated increases in subsurface nitrate, but long-term monitoring is needed to observe and understand the full response to land-use conversion.     

DIN Retention‐Transport Through Four Hydrologically Connected Zones in a Headwater Catchment of the Upper Mississippi River1

Abstract: Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) retention‐transport through a headwater catchment was synthesized from studies encompassing four distinct hydrologic zones of the Shingobee River Headwaters near the origin of the Mississippi River. The hydrologic zones included: (1) hillslope ground water (ridge to bankside riparian); (2) alluvial riparian ground water; (3) ground water discharged through subchannel sediments (hyporheic zone); and (4) channel surface water. During subsurface hillslope transport through Zone 1, DIN, primarily nitrate, decreased from ～3 mg‐N/l to <0.1 mg‐N/l. Ambient seasonal nitrate:chloride ratios in hillslope flow paths indicated both dilution and biotic processing caused nitrate loss. Biologically available organic carbon controlled biotic nitrate retention during hillslope transport. In the alluvial riparian zone (Zone 2) biologically available organic carbon controlled nitrate depletion although processing of both ambient and amended nitrate was faster during the summer than winter. In the hyporheic zone (Zone 3) and stream surface water (Zone 4) DIN retention was primarily controlled by temperature. Perfusion core studies using hyporheic sediment indicated sufficient organic carbon in bed sediments to retain ground water DIN via coupled nitrification‐denitrification. Numerical simulations of seasonal hyporheic sediment nitrification‐denitrification rates from perfusion cores adequately predicted surface water ammonium but not nitrate when compared to 5 years of monthly field data (1989‐93). Mass balance studies in stream surface water indicated proportionally higher summer than winter N retention. Watershed DIN retention was effective during summer under the current land use of intermittently grazed pasture. However, more intensive land use such as row crop agriculture would decrease nitrate retention efficiency and increase loads to surface water. Understanding DIN retention capacity throughout the system, including special channel features such as sloughs, wetlands and floodplains that provide surface water‐ground water connectivity, will be required to develop effective nitrate management strategies.     

Identifying Riparian Buffer Effects on Stream Nitrogen in Southeastern Coastal Plain Watersheds

Within the Southeastern (SE) Coastal Plain of the U.S., numerous freshwaters and estuaries experience eutrophication with significant nutrient contributions by agricultural non-point sources (NPS). Riparian buffers are often used to reduce agricultural NPS yet the effect of buffers in the watershed is difficult to quantify. Using corrected Akaike information criterion (AIC_c) and model averaging, we compared flow-path riparian buffer models with land use/land cover (LULC) models in 24 watersheds from the SE Coastal Plain to determine the ability of riparian buffers to reduce or mitigate stream total nitrogen concentrations (TNC). Additional models considered the relative importance of headwaters and artificial agricultural drainage in the Coastal Plain. A buffer model which included cropland and non-buffered cropland best explained stream TNC (R ² = 0.75) and was five times more likely to be the correct model than the LULC model. The model average predicted that current buffers removed 52 % of nitrogen from the edge-of-field and 45 % of potential nitrogen from the average SE Coastal Plain watershed. On average, 26 % of stream nitrogen leaked through buffered cropland. Our study suggests that stream TNC could potentially be reduced by 34 % if buffers were adequately restored on all cropland. Such estimates provide realistic expectations of nitrogen removal via buffers to watershed managers as they attempt to meet water quality goals. In addition, model comparisons of AIC_c values indicated that non-headwater buffers may contribute little to stream TNC. Model comparisons also indicated that artificial drainage should be considered when accessing buffers and stream nitrogen.